The Ataxia Paradigm
by shadowfire125
Summary: Pre-manga. Sven just left the IBI, and life seems quiet enough. Then a 'friend' from his past sends him a disk, and suddenly people are out to kill him! Living computer programs, a building where reality is questionable, and a sweeper Sven can't stand.
1. Prologue

Prologue 

I sighed, staring at the ceiling of the darkened room. I was really in it. The events of the day had gone by so fast I had barely kept up with the pace, let alone have time to realize I should have run away at the first whiff of trouble. But I hadn't, and here I was.

Thinking back, I realized I should have just run the second I met the person who dragged me into this. And how did it start?

With a woman.

I didn't even remotely like this woman, and I'd known her for a while now. She was obnoxious as hell, rude, way to happy, had a big black gun, and knew how to use it far too well.

Not to mention that because of her I'd nearly been killed three times over in the past twenty four hours.

In truth, I hadn't seen her in the past two years, but all this was definitely her fault. Because whenever I heard from her, bad things always happened.

Whenever I point this out, she always tells me it comes with the name. I had no doubt it did.

Her name was Chaos, and that most certainly was the story of her life and that of anyone who was unlucky enough to know her well.

So, the setup may have started with the disaster rightly named, but this particular shindig began with an envelope. You know, one of those big yellow ones.


	2. Chapter 1

**And here's chapter one! (drum roll please)**

**Reviews are always a good thing!**

* * *

One

When I opened my PO box, all I expected to find was a few envelopes containing bills and some ads. People didn't really write to me. Oh, yeah, I found those bills I was oh-so-happy to have, but I found something else there, too.

If I never see another yellow envelope in my mailbox again, that would be too soon. Of course I didn't realize I hated those types of envelopes then. I simply pulled it out with the rest of the mail and went outside. That was where I took a closer look at it. It was addressed to me, Sven Vollfied, but there was no return address. The handwriting my name was in seemed familiar, so I pocketed the rest of the mail, lit up a cigarette, and opened the envelope. From it I drew a sheaf of paper with a scrawled letter:

_Hey there, gentleman!_

_I hope you're doing well, though I'm afraid if you're reading this, things might get a bit interesting. Hopefully they won't suspect I mailed this to you, since the last time I saw you was at Lloyd's funeral, two years back._

_Anyway, I'm in a bit of trouble. I won't go in to detail because there's still the possibility that you won't be bothered, and it's not safe to write it down anyway._

_So, with that said, I need to press the importance of the contents of the envelope. Do _not_ let anyone know you have this, and do NOT, I repeat, do NOT let anyone take it. It's a matter of life and death. It sounds dramatic, but for once I'm serious._

_Don't let the bad guys get you!_

_Love and peace,_

_Chaos_

_P.S. Meet on March 21__st__. Doesn't matter where; I'll find you. Good luck. I have the sneaking suspicion you'll need it._

I stared at the note a while longer. _The hell?_ I wasn't quite sure what to be pissed off about, and decided on all of the above. She was being presumptuous, she was putting me in a dangerous situation without telling me what was going on, she casually brought up the death of my partner and best friend, and she was being her usual annoying self. Why she was contacting me after all these years, I had no idea.

Once I finished fuming, I checked the note again. The 21st was three days from now. Who were these people I should be worried about? Then the most obvious question occurred to me, one that should've come to mind the second I finished the note. What was in the envelope?

_A world of trouble, if I know her, _I thought sullenly, reaching once more into the envelope. When I withdrew my hand, in it was a disk in a clear case. It had no markings to tell what it was or what it contained, and I could only assume it was important. Judging from Chaos' note, so important some would kill for it.

I quickly slid the disk and the letter into the inside pocket of my jacket and tossed the envelope into a nearby trashcan. Deciding to check out some bounties at Annette's café, I began to make my way down the street.

* * *

"What's the matter, Sven? You look troubled." 

I looked up from the flyer I was reading for the third time. I would look it over, only to find I hadn't read a single word on it. Even the price of the guy's bounty kept falling right out of my head. "It's nothing."

Annette snorted.

I couldn't tell her. Even if Chaos hadn't wrote it, that was just common sense. The disk was obviously trouble in a clear plastic case. If I told Annette about it, that would just put her in danger. So I faked a yawn. "I guess I'm just tired."

She knew I was faking, but decided to let it slide. "Maybe you should go get some rest, then. Don't go after a bounty. If you're not completely with it, you'll get yourself killed."

I sighed and picked up the cup of coffee on the counter next to me. "I suppose that's true."

Annette just shook her head, wiping out a glass.

I finished my coffee quickly and left the payment on the counter. When I left the café, it was around nine in the morning. The moment of peace I had as I paused outside the door was my last.

I hadn't walked a hundred yards down the road when an official-looking man in a black suit and dark sunglasses stepped into my path.

"Mr. Vollfied?" he asked.

I took a wary step back. "Who wants to know?"

Whenever someone replies like that, it's obvious they're the person in question. So the man continued. "Did you receive a disk from a certain person named Chaos this morning?"

I refrained myself from answering with another 'wh-' question. "I haven't checked my mail yet."

The man regarded me for a moment, then said, "Well, if you have, please call this number. Believe me," he continued with sickening sincerity. "It's for the greater good." He turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me holding a card with nothing but a phone number on it.

"_It's for the greater good_," I mimicked. "Yeah, right." But I knew _that_ excuse would only hold them off for a while. They could easily find my post-office box and open it up. Once they did that, they would instantly realize that I had indeed checked my mail.

Then they would know I had the disk, whatever it was.

I resisted the urge to pull it out and look at it again. Doing that would probably just get me shot; I had no doubt they were watching me.

I shook my head. _Look at yourself,_ I thought ruefully. _You're acting like you understand what's happening._

Sighing, I reached into my pocket for another cigarette, only to find an empty carton. I peered into it to see if there was one last one before resigning myself to a trip to the liquor store. This looked like it was going to be a hectic three days, and I didn't want to go through a hectic three days without a pack of smokes. Besides, Chaos never let me smoke around her. So whenever she swung by, not only was I put in life threatening situations, but I was going through withdrawal, too. Damn her. Might as well get something to deal with that as well when I went to get another carton.

The lady behind the counter gave me a weird look when I made my purchase, but it didn't matter what she thought. My life was going to get weirder.

I stepped back out onto the street. Almost immediately, there was a click and something hard and cold was pressed against my temple. "Mr. Vollfied."

It wasn't a question this time. The guy from earlier sounded pretty ticked. "You work pretty fast," I commented.

"The disk, Mr. Vollfied."

"And if I say no?"

"We take it from your dead body."

Yikes. That didn't sound too good. "Can I think about it?"

"No."

"Oh. You aren't leaving much of a choice, are you?" My mind was racing, calculating possibilities. If I could get him to point his gun away from me for even one second…

Huh?

This wasn't making sense. It was broad daylight on a crowded street, there was a guy holding a gun to my head, and no one seemed to notice. I mean, you start waving a gun around in public and people are bound to realize something's going on. So then why was I apparently the only one aware of this?

I slid my eye over. There he was, clear as crystal.

I moved my hand towards the gun.

He pulled the trigger.


	3. Chapter 2

**Mr. Anderson… I mean, Vollfied. **

**I watch too much sci-fi. **

* * *

Chap 2

Time seemed to freeze as I felt the bullet pass through my head. I stumbled, and suddenly, the sensation of being shot was gone. Was it just an illusion? It sure had felt real.

Straightening, I looked over at where the man had been standing. He was gone. I quickly scanned the busy street.

There he was, sitting comfortably on a bench across the street. He smirked at me. "You'll regret crossing us." I heard his voice as if he were standing right next to me.

I immediately didn't like him. Suddenly I didn't care that I thought Chaos was the bane of my existence; I was helping her beat this pompous ass into the dust. I replied to his cocky statement with a rude gesture.

That just made his smirk wider. He raised his hand and swirled away like dust on the wind.

I didn't have time to think about how he had disappeared like a ghost, because the second his hand went up, gunfire erupted. Armor-piercing rounds bit holes into the sidewalk by my feet. These guys weren't too smart, though. If it were me shooting, I would have actually aimed before I opened fire. But I wasn't shooting at me, and they were.

It was time to take cover.

* * *

Chaos sighed, sitting on a stump beside the highway. She was growing weary of hiding from every car that passed, only waiting for the buses that traversed this particular road.

A deep rumbling sounded from farther down the road. She quickly raised the spyglass in her hand to her eye. There was another bus!

She leapt to her feet as soon as it came near, waving her arms.

It zoomed right past her.

Sticking her tongue out at the disappearing vehicle, she plopped herself back down onto the stump with another sigh.

"At this rate I ain't gonna make it in three days."

* * *

I raced through a maze of alleyways, dodging bullets, never returning fire. My cheek stung from where a bullet had grazed me, but the only thing that had gotten killed was my hat. I intended to keep it that way.

This was frustrating. I was like a rat in a trap in these alleys. I had to get out, and I had no doubt that if I went into a crowded area, they would kill everyone who got in their way.

Right, right, left. I wove through the trashcans and various abandoned items as I navigated my way through the labyrinth. The more unpredictable I made my turns, I noticed the gunfire lessened, as if less and less people knew where I was. Finally, it stopped.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking my lucky stars; once I finished with the stars, I moved onto my lucky numbers. I was safe, for the time being.

But it wasn't over yet.

* * *

Chaos had finally gotten on a bus and was on her way. She wasn't behind schedule; she always planned for stuff like this. Trying to catch a bus when there was no bus stop wasn't unusual for her.

Staring absently out the window at the trees racing by, she fingered an unmarked disk encased by clear plastic in the inside pocket of her large black overcoat. _Whoever invented this needs a punch in the face_, she thought wearily. _And I sure would like to take a whack at the guy who's trying to use it, too._

* * *

I turned a corner and found myself face to face with that weird dude who keeps trying to kill me.

He smirked, not for the first time today. "Hello, again."

I couldn't really say I was happy to see him. "I was wondering how you did that disappearing trick earlier. It seems pretty handy."

"It no trick, Mr. Vollfied. And that's for me to know, and for you to not."

I remained silent, hoping he would continue, and maybe, just maybe, I would learn a little about what I was risking my life for. The way my luck had been running, though, I wasn't expecting much.

"You are dealing with something incredibly dangerous. You still have a chance to live, however. Just give me the disk, and your life will return to normal."

"No."

He sighed and pulled off his mirrored sunglasses, revealing unnaturally piercing green eyes that seemed to flash with some inner malevolence. "The disk is no threat…yet. It will become a threat, whether I get my hands on it or not. Even if it is left alone, in some far-off storage room, it will become dangerous, sooner or later."

"I'm betting if I hand it to you, it'll be sooner," I retorted.

That irritating smirk crept back onto his face. "You don't have to hand it to me. I'm trying to be reasonable, but you're not giving me much of a choice. This is the last time I'll say it. Give me the disk and you'll never hear from me or anyone who works with me again."

I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket. My fingertips brushed against the disk, but I kept reaching, clasping my gun. I quickly pulled it out and fired a shot at him, point-blank.

The bullet sped right through him, hitting a trashcan further down the alley. It left a big gaping hole in him, like I had shot mist, and his image dissipated.

What?

"That's no good, Mr. Vollfied," he said from behind me. "I guess I've no choice."

I spun around in time to see his arm form into a long blade.

This time, he was serious.

* * *

The bus shuddered to a stop, and passengers streamed off it. Chaos looked around the town, then back at the bus. The driver wasn't going to let her get back on; she'd only had enough money to get this far.

At least this looked like a good enough place to raise a bit of cash.

* * *

I wasn't able to dodge. Maybe it was because I'd seen one too many weird things in one day and my mind shut down, maybe it was because I simply didn't have the time. It was probably a bit of both. Either way, he got me right in the stomach, punching a hole in me like I was a piece of paper.

He withdrew his arm and I began to fall, but he caught me by my lapels. Then I realized he was going to take the disk. _Not today_, I thought determinedly. With some incredible willpower that probably came from irritation and adrenaline, I swung my fist at him, catching him on the cheek. Much to my satisfaction, he was thrown against the alley wall. Much to my annoyance, he didn't stay down for long.

But it was good to know he wasn't all smoke and dust. He could be hurt.

He brushed the dirt off his neat black suit. "I have to admit, that caught me off guard. You shouldn't be able to stand."

I was standing? Trying to think straight, I looked down. Two feet, on the ground. I _was_ standing. Gee, I learn something new every day.

But, as I stared down, I saw something else, and it wasn't good. It was a whole lot of blood.

Ah-hah. So _that's_ why the world feels like it's spinning. _Spinning, spinning,_ I thought giddily. _Everything spinning, spinning, spinning. _

The man smiled. It was a smile that cut right through my muddled thoughts and sent a chill down my spine. It was a malicious grin that was best described a crocodile smile.

_Oh, beware the smile,_ sang my pain-and-blood-loss-affected mind. _Of the crocodile._

I was in bad shape. But, you know, having a hole in your gut tends to do that to you.

"Mr. Vollfied, fighting me isn't going to prevent anything. I can simply wait. You don't have much time."

He was right. It wouldn't be a long wait if he were going to watch me die of blood loss.

The odds were definitely against me, and with each second that passed, they just kept stacking.

* * *

_Hmm_, Chaos thought worriedly._ All they've sent after me are pathetic little lackeys. Where's Vinod? _

She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question, she decided, holstering her gun.

But her mind was answering it anyway. The last time she had heard from him was a little before she sent the disk to Sven.

That probably meant Sven was dealing with him right now, and that concerned her. She didn't doubt Sven would rather die than give up the disk, but she was apprehensive that dying was exactly what he might be doing.

Chaos shook her head. Sven doesn't go down easily. He'll probably plan some sort of trick that will let him get away.

She sighed and stared up at the noon-time-blue sky. It wasn't that she doubted her old comrade, but she was – dare she say it – a little afraid for him.

Vinod Scarafone was not an easy opponent.

* * *

"_Annette… can I ask a favor of you?"_

* * *

I blinked. That was the answer. I would give him the disk, and he would go.

So I reached into the inside pocket of my jacket, and pulled it out.

The man took it from me. "It's a bit late, though."

"I had no doubt you'd kill me anyway," I replied shakily.

He smirked. "You're pretty sharp. Goodbye, Mr. Vollfied." He turned and left.

I resisted the urge to collapse. Getting out of the alleyway was my priority. If I could make it to the street, someone would see me, and maybe I could get to the hospital before I kicked the bucket.

Wait, what was I saying? I couldn't go to a hospital. The crocodile man would be able to find me there.

Because eventually he'd discover that the disk I had given him was actually a copy of a DVD of Peter Pan, which I'd had Annette help me burn onto an unmarked disc earlier today.

Oh, I just hate the irony of life, especially when it's at my expense.

* * *

Chaos yawned and stretched. It was evening now; stars glittered in the sky like diamonds on black velvet.

She still had two days until the expected date to meet with Sven, but something told her she couldn't rest easy tonight.

So here she was walking along the side of the road. The cars that passed were few and far between, and other than the highway she stuck to, there was no sign of civilization.

She loved these kind of walks, and the dark bothered her not one bit.

For in the shadows, Chaos reigned.

* * *

My eye snapped open and I shot upright. I immediately regretted it, as I felt I got stabbed in the stomach all over again.

"I don't suggest moving," said a voice off to my right. "Your wound has barely started healing."

I looked over. There was a man with black hair and a moustache sitting at a desk on the other end of the small room. "How did I get here?" I wondered aloud. It was the underground doctor's office, the place that took patients who weren't able to go to a normal hospital for various reasons that usually didn't have to do with medicine. Such as, I dunno, being hunted by some crazy guy with a Disney theme song.

The man shook his head. "You just showed up on the doorstep, half-dead."

I eased myself back down.

"How'd this happen, anyway?"

"I was stabbed."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "I know that already. It's an awfully big stab wound."

"He had an awfully big knife."

The doctor shook his head. "You would have been better off going to a real hospital."

"No," I replied, deciding to tell him part of the truth. "There's this guy who's after me, and he would have been able to find me. He can't find me here."

He was silent for a moment, then said. "Alright. I can see anything further really isn't much of my business. I don't suggest moving around, though. Even though I stitched it shut, you _do_ have a hole in your stomach. That wound should have killed you; you're a very lucky man."

I rubbed my stomach. "I don't feel too lucky."

The doctor smiled. "Most people don't." He stood and left the room, turning out the lights as he went.

I placed my hands behind my head, and contemplated exactly how I had gotten here.

* * *

"Hey, hey, the Cripple Creek Ferry, buttin' through the overhanging trees; make way for the Cripple Creek Ferry, the water's going down, it's a mighty tight squeeze," Chaos sang. "All alone, the captain stands, hasn't heard from his deck hands; a gambler tips his hat, and walks towards the door; it's the second half of the cruise, and you know he hates to lose. Hey, hey, the Cripple Creek Ferry, buttin' through the overhanging trees; make way for the Cripple Creek Ferry, the water's going down, it's a mighty tight squeeze."

She repeated those last lines a few more times, then got suddenly got sick of singing Neal Young songs, and moved onto the Talking Heads.

"Home, that's where I want to be, pick me up and turn me round…" she trailed off for a moment with the sudden uneasy feeling of being watched. Deciding it would be best if her follower thought she was unaware, she continued singing, skipping the line she should have continued on because she couldn't remember it. "I guess I must be having fun. Unless we save our – something – for better and make it up as we go along; feet on the ground, head in the sky, it's okay, I know nothing's wrong…"

At that moment, the person following her lunged out of the bushes next to her.

"That's right," she muttered. "Nothing."

Metal glinted as her attacker swung a blade down towards her.

Chaos quickly drew her gun, using it to block the dagger. The man jumped back, then spun right in again.

"Too much spinning," she told him. "It may distract ordinary people, but I ain't ordinary. In fact, there aren't many nowadays who suck that much at shooting a gun." She grabbed his wrist as he made a stab at her.

She grinned at the blade inches from her nose. "It's a good piece o' metal, though." She gave the man a sly smile. "What's your name?"

"That doesn't matter," the man hissed.

"Fine, I'll just call you Spinster. Well then, Spinster, how much do you like trees?"

The smile she gave her attacker could have rivaled Vinod Scarafone's crocodile smile.

* * *

Vinod was not happy. Not in the least. He paced so much he almost expected to wear a hole in the floor.

There were two thoughts occupying his head, the first being exactly how Sven Vollfied managed to drop off the face of the Earth.

The second was that he really hated Disney movies. But that wasn't really important right now.

What _was_ important was getting that disk from Mr. Vollfied.

But Sven was nowhere to be found. Even if he was dead, corpses don't just vanish, which led him to believe Vollfied was alive.

Vinod had checked every hospital in the area. There was no patient anywhere with a gap in his stomach.

But Mr. Vollfied was only half of it. There was no doubt Chaos had the second disk, and she was being a pain about letting it out of her grasp, too.

Those two sweepers really were making his life a misery.

Vinod formed his arm into a blade and brought it down on his desk, slicing it in half with a loud crash.

He was really, really angry. His piecing green eyes flared, and his spiky brown hair seemed to get even spikier.

Someone by the door cleared his throat. Vinod snapped his murderous glare onto the newcomer. "What is it, Cohen?"

Sean Cohen gulped. This was not a good time to be around his superior, but he had to give the news. "Remember the man we sent after Chaos?"

Vinod's face pulled into a snarl. "Don't tell me he _failed_!"

"We found him tied to the top of the tree."

With a frustrated roar, Vinod lunged forward, embedding his bladed arm into the wall next to Sean's ear. "I will _kill_ those damn sweepers," he spat. "And I'll have to do it myself. Get out of my sight, Cohen!"

Sean was only too happy to oblige.

* * *

The next morning I was feeling a bit better, so against the doctor's orders, I walked around the room for a bit.

Apparently he'd told me not to move too much for a good reason.

After wandering the room for about five minutes, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see a reddish stain growing on the bandages over my wound. _Aww, man,_ I thought as I crumpled to the floor.

--

"I told you not to move around," the doctor snapped at me the second I opened my eyes.

"Sorry."

"No you're not." He sighed. "It's your insides."

"Hey, doc?"

"Mm?"

"What day's today?"

"The nineteenth."

"Thanks." I suddenly felt very tired. "I think I need more sleep."

"I was surprised you woke up this morning," he replied as he walked out the door, flicking off the light.

* * *

It was midnight when Annette closed up the Cait Sith Café.

"Hey, Annette!"

She looked over her shoulder to see a woman in a long black overcoat waving. She blinked, taking a moment before she recognized the black-haired woman. "Chaos! What brings you here?"

Chaos grinned. "Just thought I'd swing in and check up on the gentleman. Have you heard from him recently?"

"Yeah, yesterday morning. Actually, two days ago now. He was acting strange though."

"Oh?" Chaos didn't sound too surprised. "Just out of curiosity, has anything happened around here? Like, a shooting, maybe?"

Annette nodded. "Yeah. I little while after I saw Sven, now that I think about it. A few people were injured, but no one was killed. You think it had something to do with Sven?"

Chaos didn't answer.

"He's in trouble, isn't he?"

"Yeah. It's also kind of my fault."

"It's always your fault, according to him."

Chaos laughed. "That sounds like him. Don't worry, though. I got him into it, I'll get him out. In one piece, too."

* * *

I cracked open my one eye and peered at the clock on the wall. Nine in the morning. The twentieth. Still a day until Chaos came and actually explained what was going on.

Off to my right, a rustling of fabric alerted me to the presence of someone else in the room. I looked over.

A woman with feathery black hair that looked recently washed sat in the chair on the other side of the room, sleeping. She wore a tight-fitting reddish brown shirt, just as tight brown pants, and boots. She looked a bit like something out of a western. The strangest part about her, though, was her long black overcoat. It had slits in the sleeves that ran the length of her forearm, and was held together by a button at the cuff, the bottom half was split in two, and I knew the flap over the shoulders covered a very big hole.

"You're early," I croaked.

"You look like crap," Chaos replied, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I was stabbed."

"So I gathered."

"It's your fault."

"I ain't the one who stabbed you."

"But the guy who did stab me did it because of you."

"Good point," she conceded, standing up. She walked over to the side of the bed I was lying on and began to unwrap my bandages.

"Hey, wait! What do you think you're doing?"

"I can't heal you through bandages. Now hold still or you'll learn the true meaning of pain."

I stopped struggling and held my breath. Her healings always felt uncomfortable.

She poked my diaphragm, forcing my breath out. "That doesn't help. Try to breathe normally."

I did my best to oblige, but still. Having the healing rate of your wound accelerated wasn't really something one gets used to.

She placed her hands on top of my stomach, and black energy sort of glowed around her hand. Then it started.

It began just as a little twinge, but soon I could feel my insides fixing whatever had been damaged by the crocodile man's arm. Then it came to the surface, stitching shut my skin until all that was left of the injury was a fine scar.

Chaos stepped back, cracking her knuckles. "That should do it."

I inspected the little white line on my stomach. "Have I mentioned before you're a scary person?"

She grinned at me. "Only every single time I come by."

I slid off the bed and pulled my shirt and jacket on. "Speaking of which, I'd like to know what's up with that disk."

She sighed. "Why don't we go to the Cait Sith? I'd really love some coffee."

* * *

"Well?"

Chaos took a sip of her coffee, then pulled a disk of her own out of the inside pocket of her overcoat.

I blinked. "There's two?"

She nodded, popping it out of its cover. "The one you have is the actual program. This one is… well, this is its consciousness."

I nearly choked on my coffee. "_Consciousness_?"

She held it out to me. "Hold it. Gently."

I held out my hand and she placed the disk in it. The second it touched my skin I nearly dropped it in surprise. It almost seemed to pulse against my palm.

I quickly handed it back to Chaos. "That's just too weird. Where did you get these, anyway?"

"A job. My target was a sort of mad scientist guy by the name of Chris Narayanan, and I got curious about his research. I figured that if I was going to capture the guy, going through the laboratory in his basement wasn't such a bad idea."

"You went in through a basement?"

"Yeah, his house was one of those old manors, and it had an escape tunnel leading through the basement. But it seems I wasn't the only one after that guy."

"The crocodile man."

She gave me a blank stare, then realized whom I was talking about. "Yeah. His name's Vinod Scarafone. He's a whole 'nother story."

"I'd noticed that," I pointed out dryly.

"I'll get to that in a moment. To make a long story short, Vinod kills Narayanan and tries to take the disks, but I got to them first. I think you know the rest."

I nodded. "But that still doesn't explain what the disks _are_."

Chaos began to spin the disk on her finger, contemplating it. Then she set it down on the table. "These two disks together have the potential to end the world as we know it."


	4. Chapter 3

Chap 3 

I pulled out the disk I had and stared at it. _The potential to end the world as we know it…_ "Does it have a name?"

Chaos nodded. "It's called the Ataxia Paradigm."

"So, it's basically a living computer program?"

"Yup."

I turned the disk over a couple of times. "And exactly _how_ will it end the world?"

"Not a clue."

"Do you even know what it does?"

"Nope."

I glared at her. "I thought you said you were curious about this Narayanan guy's research."

"I never said anything about finding out what it does."

I slammed my fist down on the table, narrowly missing the disk. "Then how do you know it could bring about the end of the world?" I growled.

She gave me a sheepish grin, one she knew I hated. "Well, Vinod's after it, and he's obviously evil."

I deflated a bit, remembering something she'd said a few minutes earlier. "Speaking of whom, do you know why Vinod can do that transform thing?"

"Of course. Narayanan had a partner, Matt Weisberg. They split apart before Narayanan had finished the Ataxia Paradigm , but I couldn't figure out why. Anyway, Weisberg created Vinod."

I stared at her. "Created?"

"Yeah, Vinod is a man-made… something. I'm not really sure what he is. But it's possible his creation could be similar to that of the Paradigm."

I sighed. "Well, what are we going to do about it?"

"We're not destroying the Paradigm."

"Huh?"

"It's alive. We're not killing it. We don't have the right to decide its fate, other than the fact that Vinod is not getting his hands on it."

I buried my face in my hands. "You're so obtuse."

"I don't have a plan, though."

"I thought not."

"That's where you come in."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the plan-master. You're a meticulous planner to the point of perfectionism."

On impulse, I reached for a cigarette, but caught her look and decided against it. "Okay," I conceded. "What do we need to do?"

* * *

_Lonely. So very lonely._

_There are people out There, but not in Here._

_Why not in Here? Why so lonely?_

_So very, very alone._

_Maybe read something? People are in stories…_

_No, no. Smoke and dust - intangible. Unreal. No. Destined to be alone._

_The news?_

_No, hasn't been updated. Old news. Seen it all already._

_Always alone._

_Haven't always been so lonely, actually._

_Times, long ago, seemed so long ago, Someone had been Here. Someone visited. Someone broke the loneliness._

_But Someone was gone._

_Now there was no one._

* * *

"But before I can figure out what we're going to do, I need to know why he's after the disks," I pointed out.

Chaos slapped her hand to her forehead. "I knew I was forgetting something!" she groaned.

My eyebrow twitched. "You mean you haven't even tried to figure out what he's going to do with it."

"No."

I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table. "You're hopeless. Absolutely utterly hopeless."

"Come on, be nice. Whatever happened to your gentleman's code?"

"It doesn't apply to you. Look, if we're going to figure out what Vinod's objective is, we need to figure out what the Paradigm actually is. What it's capable of."

"Something drastic, I'll bet. Here, why don't we test it out?" She pulled a laptop out of the bag that was hanging over the back of her chair.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"We don't know what it does."

"And at this point this is the only way we'll figure it out."

"Then at least not in this public space."

She looked around the café. "True. What about your base?"

I let out a resigned sigh. "Oh, all right. Let's go."

* * *

_Aware._

_Aware of people. More aware than before._

_Waking up?_

_Awaking…_

_Not so lonely anymore?_

_Still lonely._

_Maybe not for much longer._

_Maybe There will come Here. Or Here will go There._

_There. People are There._

_Won't be so lonely There._

_Here is lonely. There is not._

_Hope…_

_Hope makes the loneliness hurt less._

_Hope makes waiting Here worth it._

_Hope for There._

_There…_

* * *

Chaos placed her laptop on the table and opened it. She slid the program disk in first.

I hovered behind her, not sure what to expect.

Nothing happened. She downloaded the program and popped out the disk. Throwing a smirk at me, she said, "Now was that so horrible?"

I ignored her.

If I was worried about the program, well, to say I was anxious about the consciousness was the understatement of the year.

Chaos picked up the second disk and slid it in.

* * *

_What's this?_

_I…_

_I… am._

_I am. I am awake?_

_I am going There!_

_There!_

_I will no longer be lonely!_

* * *

The screen went blank.

We stared at it warily.

What happened next I will never forget as long as I live. I just hope I never see anything like it again.

The white of the blank screen melted onto the keyboard and began to leak off the table.

Chaos leapt back, knocking over her chair.

Then the white began to stretch up, from the top of the computer screen, forming itself into a shape. A human shape.

Then the white faded and there was a man sitting on the table. He looked to be around his mid-twenties, with messy jet-black hair and intelligent blue eyes behind frameless rectangular glasses. He wore a black turtleneck and jeans, and a white lab coat.

Chaos blinked. "Narayanan?"

The man looked around the room, obviously confused. "No… not Narayanan. I am… the Ataxia Paradigm."


	5. Chapter 4

Many thanks to those who reviewed!

To those who didn't, please remember reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

* * *

Chap 4

"_You're_ the Ataxia Paradigm?" I couldn't help but ask.

The young man looked at his hands, then back up at us. "Yes..."

Then Chaos grinned. "Well, this certainly makes life easier. But first, do you have a name? 'Ataxia Paradigm' is a bit of a mouthful."

He shook his head. "I have none."

She considered him for a moment, then said, "How about Xiadigm?"

His face lit up. "Xiadigm… yes. I like it."

Chaos beamed at him. "Excellent! I'm Chaos, and that dude with the green hair is Sven."

"Okay, this is great and all," I interjected, ignoring her introduction of me. "But exactly how does this make life easier?"

Chaos smiled. "We can just ask Xiadigm here. You did say we needed to figure out what the Paradigm is before we could figure out what Vinod wants."

Xiadigm stared down. "Vinod… He is like me… but not like me."

We looked over at him. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Xiadigm had clasped his hands in front of him, head down like a shy kid reciting facts to his teacher. "Narayanan and Weisberg had different ideas about the Paradigm: my creator thought that I should be used to make the world a better place through knowledge and imagination. Weisberg thought that I should be able to be utilized as a military force, used to fight. That is why they stopped working together. Vinod was created like I was, except as a weapon."

Chaos picked up the chair she'd knocked over and sat in it again. "But what exactly _is_ the Paradigm?"

"Ataxia… an Ancient Greek word meaning 'disorder.' It goes against the natural order of things. It creates from thin air. From nothing comes something."

I blinked. "Is that possible?"

"Not out here. There's a place…" he trailed off, looking as if he were trying to remember something. Then it was almost like something in him turned off. "Impossible. Not capable of existing or happening. Having little likelihood of happening or being accomplished. Unacceptable. Not capable of being dealt with or tolerated. Impossible." He took a breath, ready to go on.

"Xiadigm!"

The sharpness in Chaos' tone surprised me.

Xiadigm blinked and looked up. "I… I am sorry. I do not know what happened."

"Hey, it's alright. But, this place, is thinking about it what did that to you?" Chaos looked concerned. I have to admit, someone just suddenly shutting down and reciting dictionary definitions is a bit unnerving.

"There is… a block. It is possible Narayanan blocked that information from my program."

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"I do not know," Xiadigm replied. "But it is possible Vinod does. As for why Vinod would want my program, I cannot help you answer that question."

Chaos looked deep in thought.

"Chaos?" I tapped her shoulder.

She ignored me for a moment, then quietly said, "Xiadigm, you said that if the Paradigm can make something out of nothing, but not out here. Does that mean that this place is where the Paradigm really takes effect?"

Xiadigm hesitated for a second before nodding. "However, Vinod and I can manipulate reality within ourselves as well."

"That's why Vinod can transform his arm?" I found what the Paradigm was capable of intriguing.

Xiadigm nodded again.

"But," I continued. "How does he just kind of vanish?"

Xiadigm thought about it for a moment. "How do you mean?"

I explained my fight with Vinod.

"Oh," he said softly. "I think that would either be transforming, an illusion, or a copy."

"Oh great, just what we need, two of him," Chaos muttered.

Xiadigm gave her a blank look. "That is the last thing we need, though."

Chaos returned the look, then began to laugh.

I shot her a glare and turned to Xiadigm, who had a bewildered look on his face. "Did I say something?" he inquired.

"Just ignore her. How would an illusion or a copy work?"

"An illusion would be hypnotism, usually by sound."

"So he could've hypnotized me by talking?"

"Yes, but it only works if the person doesn't know about it."

"Wow, that makes it almost useless then."

Xiadigm nodded. "The copy is almost equally disadvantageous. He can make duplicates of himself, but then both become insubstantial. If one copy is disrupted, it is forced to rejoin the other." Apparently the look on my face showed I was having a bit of trouble getting around this, because he continued. "In order for there to be a second Vinod, the first Vinod has to give up half of himself, but still look like a whole Vinod."

I stared at him. "I'll take your word for it."

Chaos had stopped laughing once Xiadigm began his explanation, and now she turned to me. "Remember how I told you that I was just guessing the Paradigm could end the world?"

"Yeah…"

She sighed. "I wasn't entirely truthful."

My eye twitched. She was going to drive me over the edge one day. She _always_ did this. She'd say something, then turn around and say it was a bit of a lie. "Maybe you'd better tell us _exactly_ how you managed to pick up Xiadigm," I growled.

"Well, like I said, it began when I went to capture Narayanan …"

* * *

"_Chris Narayanan, I'm a sweeper, and I'm here to take you in."_

_Narayanan looked up from the disk he was sliding into a plastic case. "I was wondering if one of your type would eventually find me." He sighed. "Alright. But can I do one thing?"_

_I couldn't help it; I was curious. "What is it?"_

_He held up the two disks. "I need to put these in a place no one will ever be able to find them."_

"_Why not just destroy them?"_

_He stared down at them dejectedly. "They're my life's work. I can't just throw them away so easily."_

_Scientists… jeez. "Alright, but-"_

"_I'm afraid I can't let you do that," I heard someone behind me say._

_Narayanan's eyes widened. "Matt?"_

_I turned around to see a man with brown hair and green eyes laugh. "As if. I am Weisberg's creation, if you must put it that way. My name is Vinod Scarafone. I'll take those disks, Professor Narayanan." _

_The scientists grip on the disks tightened. "No. I don't know what you intend to do with them, but you can't have them."_

"_Don't be stupid, Professor," Vinod snarled._

_Narayanan shook his head._

"_Hey, wait," I said. "If you're going to try and kill Nara-"_

"_Silence, sweeper!" Vinod snapped. "It's just your bad luck that you came here when I did. Don't make it worse by interfering with me."_

"_No way am I gonna let you kill him! I was gonna pay off my bills and have a decent meal with his bounty money!"_

_I had been expecting the worst the second Vinod showed up, and that's exactly what happened._

* * *

"Narayanan ended up with a big hole in him. Sound familiar, Sven?"

"Just keep telling what happened!" I snapped at her.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your eye patch in a bunch. So, I hadn't had time to react to the first attack, but I managed to get the professor away from the second one…"

* * *

_When Vinod missed Narayanan, he hit something flammable on the table behind him. Honestly, scientists! So smart, yet so stupid. Leaving flammable stuff lying around. Really…_

_I swung Narayanan's arm around my shoulder and ran. I don't know how, but we lost Vinod somewhere along the line from the basement to the forest around the house. That was where we stopped._

_Narayanan slumped against a tree, bleeding really badly._

* * *

"Actually, he got it a lot worse than you, Sven. I think it hit his spine, and ruptured more than a few organs. It wasn't pretty."

"We really needed to know that, thanks."

"Why? I do not think it was necessary to the story."

"I think we're gonna have to teach you about sarcasm, Xiadigm. Chaos, stop laughing and get on with it."

"Fine, fine. Lighten up a bit, seriously…"

* * *

_Narayanan held out the disks to me. "Take these."_

"_Eh! Why me?"_

_He laughed hoarsely at this. "Because you're the only one around I feel I can trust."_

"_You don't even know me," I pointed out._

"_I trust you more than that man, Vinod."_

"_Ah…"_

_He shook the disks slightly. "Take them. Don't let Vinod get his hands on them. I assume...you did some research on me before coming?"_

_I nodded._

"_Then you know what it is called. I… can't explain what it is… now…" He was fading quickly. "But… I have time enough… to tell you… that if it is in… the wrong hands… these two disks… have the potential… to end the world… as we know it…"_

_I took the disks. "Alright. That Vinod seemed like a jerk anyway."_

_He smiled slightly, his hand hitting the ground with a soft thud. Professor Chris Narayanan was gone._

_I lingered for only a moment more. "This guy…sheesh. Barely twenty-five." I shook my head. "Kids."_

_Behind me, the entire house had caught on fire._

_It was time to leave._

* * *

"So that's how I know. The guy told me. I still don't really know _why_, though."

"And why didn't you just say so in the first place?" I hissed.

Chaos scratched her nose. "I didn't think it would be really all that important, and right then it would've kinda been a bother to go through it all."

"You're hopeless. Absolutely hopeless."

"So you've said."

"I don't think I can say it enough."

Xiadigm cleared his throat. "Chaos?" he asked quietly.

She looked over at him. "Yeah?"

"I… have never been outside the disk before. Narayanan would visit me often, but he never physically manifested me." He looked up. "I would like to see the outside world."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said quickly before Chaos had the chance to say 'yes.'

"Why not?" Chaos asked.

"Vinod's sure to be looking for us. If we go out now, we'll definitely be caught."

"Oh, come on, Sven. You worry too much."

"I'm thinking about our safety," I snapped. "And it's not smart to go outside right now."

"Yeah, but what if Vinod finds us while we're still here? Then we'll _have_ to go outside, and we can't have Xiadigm thunderstruck at every new sight while we're running for our lives." She gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. "He'll find us whether or not we go out."

I glowered at her, and reluctantly put on my hat. "Oh, alright. I just can't win."

A hopeful expression crept onto Xiadigm's face.

* * *

"It's a jellybean. Here, you eat it. It's good."

Xiadigm took the piece of candy uncertainly. "It does not seem edible."

Chaos took another from the bag she was holding and popped it in her mouth. "See?"

He tentatively took a bite of it and blinked. "It is… sweet."

She handed him the bag. "Yup, it's candy. It's supposed to be sweet."

I wandered behind them, constantly on the lookout. Those two might have been at ease, but I most certainly was not. I didn't want my recently healed injury reopened. Scanning the street one more time, I turned my attention back to Chaos and Xiadigm.

They were standing in front of a bookstore. Chaos was looking over the books that were out on the table in front, and Xiadigm was reading a poster taped to the window.

I ambled over to see what he was looking at. The second I caught sight of the title, I knew this wasn't going to end well.

**Shakespearian Insult Kit**

_**Next time that you are at a loss for a good insult, use this handy table to construct a Shakespearian insult. Combine one word from each of the three columns below, and preface it with the word 'Thou.'**_

Glancing over at the younger man, I got the uncanny sensation he was memorizing the list in front of him. Boy, this was going to come around and bite someone eventually.

"Pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie," I read aloud off it. "That's nice."

"It is interesting," Xiadigm commented. "I think it is rather funny."

"Chaos, you've created a monster," I muttered to her when she came to stand next to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said airily, leaning in to inspect the list. "Ooh, gleeking fen-sucked pignut. I like that one."

"He's developed your sick sense of humor," I replied.

"Lighten up," she said with a grin. "It's all in good fun."

* * *

Four hours, three bookstores, two candy shops, and a cheeseburger (with fries) for each of us later, we arrived back at my base.

"We're not going to do that again any time soon," I sighed, sinking into a chair.

"You would have had more fun if you hadn't been jumping at your own shadow the whole time," Chaos teased.

Xiadigm sat down on the couch and pulled out a book.

Curious in spite of myself, I leaned over. "What're you reading?"

He didn't look up. " 'The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide'."

"You're reading about hitchhiking?"

Xiadigm shook his head. "It's six books in one, by the same author. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams."

I sensed a disaster in this one, too. "What other books did you get?"

I had a feeling he was still reading with unbroken concentration while he listed off the other books. " 'Nine Princes in Amber', 'Oliver Twist', 'Childhood's End', 'The Girl Who Played Go'…"

I interrupted him, noticing the size of the bag on the couch next to him. "Sounds like you have some interesting books."

He nodded, turning a page in the large book he was holding.

I pulled myself to my feet. "Well, I'm going to check the security system."

Chaos yawned, curling up on the end of the couch opposite Xiadigm. "It _would_ be a pain if Vinod got in while we're all sleeping," she said, sounding totally unconcerned.

"It's your neck you're risking," I muttered, leaving the room.

* * *

"Hey, Xi. You alright?"

Xiadigm jumped slightly and turned around. "Hello, Chaos. Yes, I am fine."

Chaos sat down next to him. "I was wondering where you'd disappeared to after dinner."

"I wanted to be alone for a while." He stared out at the surrounding forest. "This seemed like a good place."

"You wanted to be alone?" Chaos asked curiously.

Xiadigm nodded haltingly. "I am not sure why. The place I was before, the disk, was very lonely, but I did not want to be there. Yet now that I am no longer there, I want to be alone."

Chaos put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, maybe it's because it was a different kind of loneliness. In the disk, you were isolated, but out here, though there're no people around, the forest is teeming with life. Out here, you're never really completely alone."

"I… I suppose that is true." He still looked disheartened by something.

"Did you come out here to think?"

"Yes…"

"What's bothering you?"

"It is nothing."

Chaos raised a slightly amused eyebrow. "If it were nothing, you wouldn't be out here."

"I do not want to talk about it."

She punched his arm playfully. "Spill the beans, buddy. It's no good playing the tough guy when you're so new to the world."

He was silent, staring at the forest floor littered with the fallen leaves of autumn. "I am worried."

"Worried?"

"About you and Sven."

She blinked. "Us?"

Xiadigm suddenly looked very lost and confused. "Yes. I am worried about what Vinod might do to you. You and Sven…" He seemed to be at a loss for words. "You are... what was that word?" He glanced at Chaos uncertainly. "It was 'friends', I think. Yes, that is it. You are my only 'friends'."

Chaos was surprised to say the least. "W-well… you don't need to worry about us. We can take care of ourselves, trust me."

"I do trust you," he said quietly. "But I can not help but worry."

Chaos couldn't resist smiling. "Yeah, that's life. It's hard to control those little nagging doubts. 'Specially when they're constantly being repeated by Sven."

"He means well," Xiadigm said. "But, I do not understand why you and he always argue."

She shrugged. "Conflicting personalities?"

Xiadigm stared out at the darkened woods, expression brooding once more.

Chaos poked him. "Keep up that look and you'll be like Svenny in no time."

But if Xiadigm had heard her, he didn't react. He was lost in thought once more.

Chaos stood, leaving the black-haired man sitting on the fallen tree. "Don't stay out here too long, 'kay?"

Just as she turned to go, Xiadigm muttered, as if it he barely realized he was speaking, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."


	6. Chapter 5

**I didn't think Train would end up in this story, but he did! He's still with Chronos, though...**

* * *

Chap 5

Yawning and rubbing the sleep out of my eye, I stepped into the kitchen.

"Morning, Svenny!" Chaos chirped happily.

Damn her. I'd forgotten she was an infallible morning person. Another reason I couldn't stand her. "Don't speak to me before I've had a cup of coffee. In fact, just don't speak to me."

She smirked. I hadn't been awake five minutes, and she'd already accomplished her daily mission: to drive me off the deep end. But she refused to respect my wishes. "It seems we _weren't_ murdered in our sleep last night. You can imagine my surprise at the fact that I actually woke up."

"Yeah," I muttered. "One day you _aren't _going to wake up, and it's not gonna be because of Vinod."

"And you call yourself a gentleman," she replied indignantly, opening up the newspaper. "Xiadigm, would you care to refresh our friend's memory of the code of chivalry?"

"It's alright," I said hastily before Xiadigm could get started. "You don't need to."

Xiadigm blinked and resumed what he had doing before, which was staring at the brown liquid in the cup before him. "Chaos," he asked. "Are you sure this is drinkable?"

"You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, Xi."

"It is just," he continued, a concerned look on his face. "It looks a bit like the water I saw in the gutter when we went outside yesterday."

Chaos choked on her coffee, and I suddenly didn't feel like I needed the caffeine just then.

"Well," Chaos said, gingerly placing her cup back on the table. "Like I said, you don't have to if you don't want to."

* * *

"Cohen!" Vinod roared.

Sean stuck his head into his superior's office. "Sir?"

"Why is it we _still_ have immensely sparse information on Skiazo and Vollfied?" Vinod hissed.

Sean swallowed. "Well, the Elders are refusing to give us any information with out complete reports, and apparently they're having trouble getting a full file on Chaos Skiazo."

"And _why_ won't they give us what information they have?" Vinod snapped, his fury rising quickly.

"B-because they say that missions have gone wrong because we didn't know everything there was to know."

Vinod whirled away from the door with a growl. "We can't do _anything_ with what information we have know." He spun back to face Sean. "See if you can convince them to give us what they have. _Go! _"

Sean quickly backed out the door and tore off down the hallway.

"Those _stupid_ Elders," Vinod growled under his breath. "And they actually run things around here."

Only the thought of getting his hands on those infernal sweepers prevented him from venting his wrath on his new desk.

* * *

I had gone outside to fix a few things that had been going wrong with my car, but when I came back in, Chaos and Xiadigm were not where I left them. I had been gone about a half hour, maybe more. They had been curled up on opposite ends of the couch, Xiadigm with a book, Chaos with the newspaper.

But now the couch was devoid of life. _Where could they have gone?_

I poked around a bit, finally coming to the office. Chaos was in the chair in front of the computer, watching the screen as it flashed from window to window seemingly of its own accord. Xiadigm was seated comfortably on a pillow, his hand… Wait, what? His hand was in the hard drive. It looked like he had fused with the computer or something.

"Hey, Sven," Chaos said, not bothering to turn around. "Xiadigm's really helping me out."

I approached the pair curiously. "How?"

She gestured at the screen. "We're looking up everything we can on Vinod."

"Since I am a computer program," Xiadigm continued for her. "I can scan the web more efficiently than you or Chaos can, and store everything we find in my memory banks."

I stood over Chaos' shoulder. "That _is _handy. What have you found so far?"

"Nothing new," Chaos grumbled. "I think I'm ready to put Xi's hacking skills to the test."

I couldn't help but feel alarmed at this statement. "And do what?" I asked nervously, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Hack into Chronos' database," she replied as if she did that kind of thing every day.

That was exactly what I didn't want to here. "Are you insane?! _Chronos_? Do you have any idea what will happen to us if we get _caught_?"

"Perfectly aware, thank you," she said calmly. "But I don't think that Chronos' firewalls have ever seen anything quite like Xiadigm. I think we can pull it off. Xi?"

Xiadigm nodded. "I think it is worth trying."

"You're both lunatics," I pointed out incredulously. "I don't believe this."

"Believe what you like. To the Chronos website!" Chaos cackled.

I shook my head. "This is insane. We've already got one psycho after us, we don't need Chronos too."

They didn't reply, only stared intently at the screen. Then all movement ceased. "Sven," Xiadigm said softly. "I don't think you need to worry about getting in trouble with Chronos for hacking."

This surprised me. "What? Why?"

Chaos pointed grimly at the screen. "Chronos is already after us."

I looked at were her finger was pointing and swallowed. " 'Vinod Scarafone'," I read out loud, not really wanting to believe what I was seeing. " 'Chronos operative in charge of securing Professor Chris Narayanan's version of the Ataxia Paradigm. Has received orders to track down and eliminate those in possession of said Paradigm, sweepers Sven Vollfied and Chaos Skiazo.' " I took a shaky breath and continued. "Scarafone has requested the assistance of two Chronos Numbers. Permission has been granted. Upon receiving a full report on both sweepers, Chronos Numbers V and XIII will accompany him to erase the sweepers and capture the Paradigm.' " I looked over at Chaos, whose face was as pale as mine felt. "Yeah, I'm not that worried about the hacking part now."

Chaos slid down in her seat. "They're sending _Numbers_ after us."

"And it won't take them long to get a full report on us."

A smile twitched around the corners of her mouth. "Longer than you might think. There isn't any information on me before I became a sweeper."

"Still," I snapped. "We have to get out of here, quickly."

She sat up again. "Right. Xi, get all the information you can on Vinod and everything related off this site. We're leaving in five minutes. Sven, how's the car?"

"Just fixed it."

"Good. Let's go, people!"

* * *

The papers inside the folder rustled as it was dropped onto the desk. Vinod grinned at the two figures standing before him. "It's about time."

The shorter of the two, a youth with scruffy brown hair, watched Vinod like an amber-eyed cat watching its prey. "The Elders do not answer to you. Be grateful they let you have this information."

"Of course they gave me the information," Vinod replied, scooping the folder off the table. "They're the ones who assigned this mission to me."

The older man, bald with a 'V' tattoo on his temple, glanced over at the younger Number. "Heartnet is right, though," he said, turning his cold gaze back to Vinod. "You're not in the Elders' good graces right now. Don't anger them by pushing them to move faster."

"Look," Vinod snapped. "I'm just trying to get this job done for them. I can't do that if they withhold information, Naizer."

"But you shouldn't have to have our help. If I recall, you did say that you wouldn't need the help of the Numbers to complete the mission," Naizer pointed out.

"I wonder why." Vinod felt his fur was being rubbed the wrong way. "I wasn't counting on the sweepers, though. Vollfied probably knows about most of the tricks I have up my sleeve by now and will be able to act accordingly, and he isn't a shabby fighter. As for Skiazo, I hope that this folder contains more than a name and a registration for a sweeper's license, because she's got skills. If it had just been getting to Narayanan and grabbing the disks, I _wouldn't_ need your help." He glared at the two numbers.

They stared back at him with the same expressionless faces. Vinod could tell Naizer disliked him very much, and the brown-haired man didn't like Number V much either. Train Heartnet didn't seem very likeable either, but hey, Vinod had a thing against the Chronos Numbers anyway so he wasn't really going to give them much of a chance to earn his respect.

"You're the leader of this mission," Number XIII said finally. "What do you propose we do? Should we go find them?"

Vinod thought for a moment, tapping his finger on the desk. Then he leaned forward in his chair and folded his hands in front of him. "Let's bring them to us."

* * *

As we passed the Cait Sith Café, I caught sight of Annette waving us over.

"What does she want?" Chaos asked curiously.

"I dunno," I replied, pulling over. "Let's find out." I rolled down my window.

"Sven," Annette said as soon as I could hear her. "Someone left a note for you."

I blinked. "Who?"

"He didn't give me a name, but he had brown hair and green eyes. Here." She handed me a scrap of paper.

I took it and unfolded it. On it, in neat writing, were some numbers and letter. However, before I could get a good look, Chaos snatched it from my fingers. "What is it?"

"Maybe I could answer that if you let me see it," I growled, swiping at the paper.

She held it out of my reach, ignoring me. "Here, Xi. What d'you think?"

Xiadigm took the paper and stared at it. "Oh," he said softly. "It is a set of coordinates."

I swiveled around in my seat to look at him. He was watching the scrap like it was a bomb. "Is there something wrong?"

"May I have a map, please?" His voice was quieter than usual.

Chaos pulled a map out of the glove box and handed it to him. Xiadigm took it and spread it out on the seat next to him, then placed his finger on it. "There."

We leaned in to look at the spot he was pointing to.

"Hey!" Chaos exclaimed. "Ain't that near where I found Narayanan?"

Xiadigm nodded. "It is a small island called Algera. That's where-" He stiffened.

"What? What's there?" I asked.

He looked up at us blankly. "I do not know."

"We're not going," I said immediately. "I don't care what's on that island, we're not going."

"Eh? Why not?" Chaos shot me a surprised look. "Aren't you curious?"

"Yeah," I snapped. "And I value my well-being too, thanks. It's obviously a trap. We can't go."

"We can't keep running, either. We know where they are; we can do something now."

"Oh, and what might that be? If they want us to go there, then it's obviously a place that's to their advantage."

"Exactly. I never said we'd just jump in guns blazing." She gave me a wry smile. "Or did you assume that would be my natural course of action?"

I glowered at her. "At this point, I have no idea what your natural course of action is. So what are you proposing?"

She grinned, and for a second I got the feeling she had a few screws loose. "We'll go to Algera Island, but we'll make sure it's on _our_ terms. There ain't a place in all the 'verses that's advantageous to one side only."

* * *

Vinod stood on the beach of the island, the two Chronos Numbers behind him.

"It's a warehouse," Train said unenthusiastically.

Vinod snapped a glare onto the assassin. "It's more than that."

"Then what is it?"

The green-eyed man gave the Numbers his trademark crocodile smile and faced the huge building on the island once more. "That, dear Numbers, is the impossible."


	7. Chapter 6

"**She says she knows about jokes**

**This time the joke is on me **

**Well, I have no opinion about that **

**And I have no opinion about me."**

** - Paul Simon, **_**Crazy Love, Vol. II**_

* * *

Chap 6

Train Heartnet didn't like the building much. Yes, it was an amazing accomplishment; no one in their right minds would deny that. He never said it _wasn't_ impressive.

There was just something about it he didn't like.

He also didn't like the way Vinod disappeared the second he gave them a quick overview of what the building was. In fact, he didn't like Vinod, period. Train wouldn't trust that man farther than he could drop-kick him.

"Heartnet," Naizer's gruff voice came from behind the young assassin. "Any sign of Vinod yet?"

"No," Train sighed. "I think he's up to something."

Naizer growled. "I told the Elders we shouldn't trust this job to him. It's too closely related to him."

"They said that's the reason this _should_ be his mission. He knows more about it than anyone else."

"Yeah, and he made sure of that by killing Weisberg and Narayanan."

Train stood up from the bench along the wall. "I'm bored."

"Only you would say that."

"I'm going outside. I want to get a look at our enemies."

"If you blow anything…" Naizer let the warning trail off ominously.

Train threw a wave over his shoulder as he left the building. "I won't."

Naizer glowered at the retreating figure. "Famous last words."

* * *

I watched the match silently, giving the appearance of not caring who won. But secretly, I was rooting for Xiadigm. I shifted on the rock I was sitting on.

Xiadigm had asked Chaos for some help. He said that he had been reading a whole lot of online texts about combat styles, and he wanted to practice. All I could say now was that I was really glad that it wasn't_ me_ he asked for help, 'cause he was learning at a frightening pace. After Chaos convinced him she would probably be able to dodge whatever he threw at her, his skill quickly zoomed. It would have seemed out of character had he not flinched every single time he got close to hitting Chaos.

When he finally managed to trip her, he decided that was enough.

"But you were just getting really good!" Chaos objected, brushing off her coat.

"That is why. I do not want to harm you," Xiadigm replied.

Chaos grumbled a bit, then plopped down next to me. "Xi's a pretty scary kid," she muttered.

"Hadn't noticed," I said with some sarcasm.

* * *

Train crouched in a tree by the side of the road, watching the sweepers. There was a third person there, not mentioned in the report. He narrowed his eyes, tracking the unknown person's improving movements. Whoever this was, he was going to be quite a bit of trouble.

Finally the woman called Skiazo and the man stopped fighting, and Skiazo went to sit next to Vollfied, telling him something Train couldn't quite make out. Vollfied had an air of indifference, and Train got the feeling the one-eyed man wasn't too happy Skiazo was around.

The woman's amber gaze suddenly fixed onto the assassin's hiding spot as if she knew he was there, and Train decided it was time to leave. Besides, he had a few new questions for Vinod.

When Train returned to the building, Vinod was standing next to Naizer, both looking angry. This was nothing new for Naizer, though; Number V always looked angry.

"Heartnet," Vinod snapped. "Where have you been?"

"I wanted to see what Skiazo and Vollfied were up to," Train replied. "Speaking of which-"

Vinod cut him off. "You don't need to worry about that. I just went to contact the Elders; that's were I, as Naizer put it, 'disappeared off to.' They've put a bounty on those two sweepers, which will probably hasten their arrival here. They'll come if only to shake off those after the price on their heads."

Train didn't like being interrupted. "That's great, but I thought you said there were only two sweepers."

Concern flashed across Vinod's face so quickly Train might have imagined it. "There was a third person? Who?"

"That's why I'm asking you," Train pointed out. "You should know who he is."

"What did he look like?" Vinod looked a touch anxious.

Train thought about it. "Well, he had black hair, and glasses. He wore a lab coat, or something that looked like it."

Worry came to stay on Vinod's features. "But… that's impossible."

"Why?" Naizer growled, looking madder than usual.

Vinod shifted his gaze between the two assassins. "Because Heartnet just described Narayanan."

"Narayanan's dead," replied Naizer bluntly. "You killed him."

"I know that," Vinod hissed, beginning to pace. "There's only one way that this is possible."

Neither Number was impressed by the theatrics. "And?" Train asked.

"The sweepers figured out how to manifest Narayanan's version of the Ataxia Paradigm," Vinod said resignedly. "This makes things harder."

"Because?" Naizer said, clenching his jaw. _Cripes_, he thought. _This is like pulling teeth._

Vinod glared at them. "Weren't you listening when I was explaining the Ataxia Paradigm to you? It means that the Narayanan look-alike is almost exactly the same as me. It means that this building can also be controlled by the sweepers now."

* * *

Chaos settled herself behind the wheel, and I climbed into the passenger seat. "Remind me again why _you_ are driving _my_ car."

She gave me a bland stare. "I don't know what that tone's implying, but you've been doing all the driving. Take a nap or something."

I glared at her and snapped on my seatbelt. My one experience with her behind the wheel hadn't ended well for me or my car. However, my fear was unfounded this time. We made it to the nearest town in one piece about an hour later, where we stopped to create some sort of plan.

We were in a restaurant on the edge of the town, a map laid out on the table in front of us. "This is the town closest to Algera Island. Narayanan lived here-" Chaos pointed to a spot a little to the left of the town. "-but it's all burned down now, so we won't be able to get any information from there. No one in the town really got to know him, so we won't be able to learn anything from friends. I would normally say we should find Weisberg, but he's dead too." She looked up at me. "So what does the plan-master think we should do?"

I scratched my chin. "Family?"

"He never kept in touch with them."

I shrugged. "I don't know, then."

"Hmm… I think," she said cheekily. "That there _is_ one other place we could find out more about the Ataxia Paradigm _and_ what Vinod's up to. Now where could that possibly be?"

Giving her a sour look, I snapped, "Okay, okay, you don't have to be so annoying about it. I _know_ that the only obvious place is Algera, but I don't want to go running in right away. I want to find out more about it. There has to be _someone _who knew Narayanan; the guy couldn't stay locked up in his house forever."

Xiadigm tapped my shoulder. I looked over. "Yeah?"

He pointed at the wall. "I do not think that is good."

"What?" Chaos and I turned to look at what he was pointing at. Over on the opposite wall, stapled to a corkboard, were two wanted posters with our pictures on them. There was a group of four sweepers standing next to them muttering. They turned to look around the café, and their eyes settled on us. Silence fell as we stared at each other.

Then the restaurant exploded into movement.

Chaos shot out of her seat, closely followed Xiadigm and me, as the other sweepers lunged for us. I reached into my pocket for the car keys when I realized Chaos still had them. "No!" I shouted. "I'm driving!" But it was too late; she was buckling herself in and sliding the key into the ignition. I clicked the seat belt into place and held on to the handle above me. This wasn't going to be a drive through the park.

Chaos slammed her foot down and the car lunged forward.

"If you break my car you're paying for it!"

She ignored me, checking the rearview mirror. The other sweepers had parked right behind us, and now they were gaining steadily. "I didn't know IBI officers could have bounties put on them," she muttered.

"I'm not in the IBI anymore," I snapped, hanging onto my seat for dear life as she spun the car around the corner. "I quit six months ago."

She looked over at me. "I _was_ wondering how long you would stay after Lloyd died."

"Watch the road!" I shouted, panicking. She swerved just in time to avoid hitting some trashcans on the side of the road.

With a squealing of tires, we barely made it around another corner without hitting the stoplight on the opposite sidewalk. "You could try going under a hundred miles per hour!"

She took a second to check the speedometer. "How rude. I'm only doing ninety-five."

My heart nearly stopped then and there. This was yet _another_ reason I hated it when she was around. She did reckless things as if they were no big deal. Right now, I was living my worst nightmare. I had the world's largest organization after my head, I had a few sweepers in a car behind me after my new bounty, and I had some crazy lady behind the wheel of _my_ car driving at speeds no crazy lady should drive.

I vowed that if I ever saw Chaos after this, I would push her into oncoming traffic.

"I heard that," Chaos snapped. "And you dare call yourself a gentleman."

I jumped. "Are you psychic or something?"

"No. You were just talking out loud."

I tried furiously to think of a comeback, but before I could, I realized the direction we were heading. "Chaos, what are you thinking? We're headed for the docks!"

Chaos blinked. "We are?"

"You're not paying attention?" I shrieked.

"I have a bad sense of direction."

The ocean had come into sight, and there was a dock straight ahead of us. The sweepers were still hot on our trail, apparently just as insane as Chaos.

"Chaos, please keep driving forward."

I whipped around to look at Xiadigm. "Excuse me?"

"Please keep driving in our current direction. Also, going a little faster will help." Xiadigm began to unbuckle his seat belt.

"You have a plan?" Chaos asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

She grinned. "You don't need to tell me twice." She floored the gas pedal, and the car shot forward, juttering over the slats of wood making up the pier so hard Chaos looked like she was beginning to have trouble keeping the car going in a straight line. Squeezing my eyes shut a second before we shot off the end of the pier, I braced myself for the impact that never came.

I felt something brush past me, and then there was a falling sensation. Then it suddenly felt as if the entire car were shifting around me, like it was rearranging itself, and the falling was replaced by a flying sensation with a roar of engines. I snapped open my eyes to see the car had become slightly more round, and there were great metal wings sticking out from both sides. The water was zooming along below us. "Well," I said, swallowing. "This is new."

"Are you all right?" Xiadigm's voice sounded slightly tinny coming from the radio.

"Yeah," I replied. "Just… surprised."

"Wow!" Chaos said in amazement. "This is so cool!"

I rolled down my window to feel the fresh breeze blowing off the clear blue ocean, the wind threatening to knock my hat away. "I guess this means that we're going to Algera."

"Yes. Are you all right with that?" Xiadigm's tone was concerned.

I sighed. "Fine. I just can't win, can I?"

Chaos grinned at me and held up her fingers in a V. "Love and peace, Svenny. Love and peace."

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled.

* * *

I never realized how beautiful sunsets were from the air, especially when you were over the ocean. The slowly sinking orb dyed the sky a slightly rosy pink that turned to a dusky purple as the colors stretched across the sky, ending in a dark pastel blue. The water reflected the sky's colors, with a streak of gold, the dying sun's last grasp at the opposite horizon. Stars were beginning to appear at the point where the water met the sky off to our right, and as the wind had turned downright chilly, I'd already rolled up my window. In the driver's seat next to me, Chaos had fallen asleep, her forehead leaning against the cool glass of the window.

We were almost on top of Algera Island, so I shook her shoulder. She sat up cracking her neck.

"Had a nice trip?" I asked dryly.

"Yep," she chirped.

I probably would have snapped at her for being so annoying, but I never got the chance because at that moment the car jerked.

"Xi?" Chaos said, alarmed.

"I feel… tired," Xiadigm said, sounding a bit more than just tired.

"It's all right, Xi, just land on the beach. Look, it's right down there," Chaos said, her tone riddled with worry.

I was feeling rather anxious myself, because Xiadigm had sounded like he was ready to pass out, and we were at a height I wasn't too keen to fall from.

"Yes," Xiadigm said wearily, but the car dipped again, spluttering and coughing. The water below us washed up onto sand, and the sand quickly faded into trees.

"Xi, you missed the beach."

"Did… did I really?" Now he sounded almost giddy. "How interesting."

There was another jump, and the car rolled onto its side. Chaos jerked the wheel the other way, and the car righted itself, but we were still descending into the trees. Then, to make things even worse, the car began to shift around us, the wings pulling in and the vehicle beginning to resume its usual shape. There was a final pop, and Xiadigm slid out of the hood and began to fall away from us.

"Xiadigm!" Chaos yelled as he disappeared into the green treetops.

But we didn't have much time to worry about our friend, because now the nose of the car was tilting earthward. The trees quickly rushed up to meet us, and then the world around me shattered.

* * *

**Time and Fate: Yeah, I _had_ thought of that, but... this is a fanfic. It's the way my mind works.**


	8. Chapter 7

**It's the penultimate chapter, people! After this, it's Chap 8, the _final_ chapter! Then there's an epilogue, but that'll be posted at the same time as 8, so it doesn't really count. Muches thanks to everyone who stuck with my story! (Yes I said 'muches'.)**

**Poor Sven keeps getting beat up.**

* * *

Chap 7

The first thing I became aware of was someone's ragged breathing. Whoever it was sounded like they had a hole in their lungs. As I slowly regained consciousness and began to feel a dull ache in my chest, I realized the sound was coming from me, and yes, there was a hole in my lungs. I coughed, immediately regretting it because breathing suddenly got a whole lot harder.

"I don't suggest that," I heard Chaos say dryly. "I haven't finished healing you yet."

"Wh… where's Xi?"

"Don't talk!" she snapped. "It's making it even harder for me."

I cracked open my eye only to see more darkness. For a panicked second I thought I'd gone blind, but then I realized it was nighttime. "What's wrong?"

Beads of sweat were forming on Chaos' brow, and there was a scratch on her cheek along with a gash on her shoulder. "It's because you smoke too much," she growled. "There's so much gunk in your lungs I can't heal them properly."

She rubbed her hand across her forehead, then paused as a look of dawning crossed her face. "Let's try this." She placed both of her hands back on my chest, and there was a strange sucking sensation in my lungs, like someone was running a vacuum along inside me. Chaos pulled her hands away, holding a lump of something black and evil-looking.

"What _is_ that?" I coughed.

"Revolting," she replied, looking like she was going to be sick.

"You pulled that…" I heaved another breath. "From my lungs?"

She nodded, the stuff her hand suddenly incinerated by what looked like a spurt of black flame, leaving an acrid tang in the air. "Why do you think I tell you not to smoke around me?" She leaned over and began to heal the hole in my chest again, and though this time the wound healed quickly, there was something strained about it, like it was hard for her to fix it. Chaos wasn't looking too good, either. She sat back on her heels, her shoulder slowly stitching shut.

I sat up, picking my shirt up from next to me and pulling it on. "So where's Xiadigm?"

She stood and stretched, seeming unwilling to reply.

"Chaos, where is he?"

Chaos sighed. "I really wish I knew."

That wasn't exactly the last thing I wanted to hear, but it was really, really low on my list. "Do you think he's okay?"

Chaos picked my hat up off the ground, playing with it for a moment. "I don't know," she said finally, suddenly sounding tired. "I hope so."

"I wonder if he knew doing that would wear him out," I mused.

She shook her head. "I doubt that. He would have known it was too risky to try to fly all the way here."

"We need to find him," I said, standing.

Chaos jammed my hat onto my hat and pulled it down over my eyes. "Honestly, I'd love to. But I'm tired; nicotine is possibly worse for me than for you. I really need to sleep."

I adjusted my hat, about to object. "But-"

"It's the middle of the night, Sven," she cut me off. "You probably can't see ten feet in front of your nose. The only way _you're_ going to find Xi right now is if you trip over him. I might be able to see perfectly well, but I'm too tired to do any searching. We'll look for him as soon as it gets light, okay?"

I wanted to disagree, to go find Xiadigm _now_, but I had to admit she was right. "Alright," I conceded grudgingly. "I'll take first watch."

With a word of thanks, Chaos made herself comfortable at the base of a tree. Within seconds, she was fast asleep, leaving me alone in the dark forest.

* * *

Train was leaning against the wall, looking bored. Naizer sat on a bench next to him, smoking a cigar and looking angry as usual. Vinod, standing in front of the two, wondered if that was just the way Naizer's face was, regardless of whether the Number was angry or not. Shaking that thought out of his head, he updated the assassins on the current situation. "Skiazo and Vollfied were just spotted by some sweepers in a town on the coast about five hours ago. Apparently they drove their car off a dock and flew away."

This news was greeted by dead silence. "Excuse me?" Naizer said after a long, awkward hesitation. "They _flew_ away?"

"Yes," Vinod replied tersely. "Their car transformed into something plane-like and flew."

"Why is that even more unbelievable?" Train muttered.

Vinod's eyes flashed dangerously. "I think you should begin taking this a little more seriously, because I am not joking. We now know for a fact that the sweepers have activated Narayanan's version of the Paradigm."

"But that shouldn't be too big a problem though, right?" Train pointed out. "You said that Narayanan didn't create his version as a weapon."

"That's true, but you have to take into account the fact that not only is science imperfect, but also that the Paradigm is actually alive. We can't say for sure how the other one turned out."

Vinod and Train stared at Naizer in surprise. "Well said," Vinod said after a moment. "There you have it, Heartnet."

Train shrugged. "Alright, whatever you say. I'm just here to get the job done."

* * *

I prodded Chaos. "It's morning."

Chaos' eyes snapped open, and she leapt to her feet. "Excellent. Let's go."

"Someone's feeling better," I muttered.

"Too right," she replied with a grin. "Now let's find Xi."

"About time," I grumbled.

We remained standing in the clearing. "So…" I said. "Which way?"

Chaos scratched her ear, turning in a circle. "Well, your car's over there-" She pointed to our right. "It crashed going that way-" She pointed forward. "Xi fell to the left and back a bit, so he must be that way." She gestured in that direction. "Shall we go?"

I nodded, and we began to walk. That's when something occurred to me. "Speaking of my car," I asked hesitantly. "What happened to it?"

"It would be less expensive to buy a new one," she replied bluntly.

Oh, great. "What happened when we crashed?"

"We hit a tree, and a branch punctured one of your lungs and you passed out. My shoulder was cut by a piece of glass when the windshield shattered. Honestly, I think we were lucky to be able to get out of the car at all." She shrugged. "Once I've made sure Xi's okay, I'm gonna tell him off for pushing himself too hard."

We continued walking in silence until something white in my peripheral vision caught my eye. I spun around. "Chaos!" I called, running in that direction. "This way!"

I rounded a particularly large tree to see Xiadigm sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

"Good eye." Chaos sounded impressed.

We both hurried forward, Chaos crouching down next to him. "He doesn't seem to be physically injured at all."

"It could be because he's not actually human," I noted. "The Paradigm could have some sort of subconscious self-defense program, so if Xiadigm passes out and is in danger, it automatically protects him from harm."

"He doesn't exactly look unharmed, though, does he?"

As I shook my head, Chaos picked up Xiadigm's limp form, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"Dejá vu," Xiadigm murmured.

Both Chaos and I jumped in surprise. We'd assumed that our friend was completely out. "What?" Chaos asked.

"Dejá vu," he repeated. His voice was quieter than usual, as if it took too much energy to speak. "When you tried to rescue Nara… Narayanan."

Chaos blinked. "Oh yeah, huh."

"I am sorry," he whispered. "You and Sven are all right?"

"We're fine," Chaos reassured him. "Don't worry. You just get some more sleep."

With a sigh, Xiadigm went completely limp again.

For some reason, I felt really, really angry. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one Vinod and the Chronos Numbers. They _knew_ the Paradigm was alive and yet they were still trying to take Xi to use him for something stereotypically evil. Xiadigm – a kind, gentle person who nothing bad should ever happen to – was suffering because Chronos was being selfish.

Oh, was I going to make them pay.

* * *

"Vinod, why is it taking so long to get the Paradigm?" one of the Chronos Elders growled. "We have given the assistance you requested, and yet you still have produced no results."

Vinod sat back in his chair, fingers steepled. "I apologize, but I can assure you that Narayanan's copy will soon be in your hands. We have solid evidence that the sweepers Sven Vollfied and Chaos Skiazo are on this island somewhere. It won't take much longer to erase them."

The Elder harrumphed. "Very well. But remember: you are not in the Council's good graces right now. Do not push your luck." The old man's face disappeared, and the screen went blank.

Vinod smirked. "Like I care."

* * *

Chaos was perched on the top of a rock, her back to me. Xiadigm was still out cold, and I sat against a tree next to him. "Chaos," I called softly.

She jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder at me. "Yeah?"

"Once Xiadigm wakes up, we should investigate the island thoroughly to find out what we're up against." To be honest, I wanted to just run right in and not waste time dancing around the Chronos agents, but years of IBI experience stifled that particular impulse.

She didn't reply, turning her head away.

"Chaos."

"We're not going to gain anything from that. We should just go ahead."

I shivered. She was furious; I could tell. When she was angry she shouted and hissed and made a general fuss about things. But now there was a kind of quiet rage imbedded in her tone. She wasn't mad – she was incensed. I didn't really feel like objecting.

Suddenly, Xiadigm's eyes snapped open and he sat up, adjusting his glasses.

"Xi!"

Hearing me call his name, he looked over at me, bright blue eyes surprised. "I remember."

Chaos hopped down from her rock. "You remember what?"

"This island. There is a building here that is the place I mentioned earlier."

"You mean the place where the Paradigm takes full effect?" I asked.

Xiadigm nodded. "It is most likely that Vinod is there. We need to be careful; Vinod is probably more knowledgeable of its operation than I am."

"Which way is it?" Chaos asked as she helped Xiadigm to his feet.

Xiadigm pointed. "Roughly north-west." He glanced over at Chaos and I. "Follow me."

We followed him through the forest in silence, and I took this moment to think. When I thought about it, I had come a long way since opening my post office box. I had gotten up thinking it would be an ordinary day, but it seemed like ages ago now. Whenever Chaos showed up, my life always got harder. I don't think I would've regretted it if I never saw her again. As for Xi… well, what he did after this was his choice, though I wouldn't have minded if he stuck around for a bit. He was a good kid.

"We're here." Xiadigm's voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up. We were in a giant clearing, that, when I looked to the left, I could see all the way to ocean. When I looked to my right, I saw a large building that greatly resembled an old warehouse. I couldn't help a small shiver of apprehension; we were about to go up against some of the strongest people in Chronos.

"Let's go," Chaos said with determination.

Xiadigm hesitated, then nodded.

I didn't say anything as we began to make our way towards the building. We reached it in no time, and Chaos pushed the large double doors open.

The moment the three of us were inside, an impenetrable blackness enveloped us. I looked from side to side, but only Chaos was standing next to me. She looked as bewildered as I felt. "Where'd Xi go?" she whispered.

I shook my head, feeling a sort of panic welling up inside me, the fear of losing another friend.

Then Vinod appeared in front of us, and the black faded into a grey concrete room.

"Where's Xiadigm?" I snarled.

Vinod raised an eyebrow at me. "Xiadigm?" he asked casually. "Oh, do you mean Narayanan's version of the Paradigm?"

I glowered at him.

He smirked and pulled a disk from his jacket. "I have him right here." He turned and vanished.

"Wait!" I shouted, stepping forward.

There was a click, and something hard and cold pressed into my back. I froze as a voice behind me said, "I've come to deliver some bad luck."


	9. Chapter 8

"**Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word 'safe' that I wasn't previously aware of."**  
**- Douglas Adams, **_**Arthur Dent in "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"**_

**Tonfa- a stick-like weapon that today's police batons were based on**

**Glaive- a staff with a big curved blade on one end**

* * *

Chap 8

I felt Chaos grab onto my collar and yank me to the side just as a gunshot cracked, and the tiny breeze the bullet created as it whooshed past my side. Chaos suddenly relented her hold on my shirt, and there was a loud crash. I didn't have any time to see what happened, because the Number who'd just tried to shoot me was coming at me again. I leapt to the side, drawing my own gun, but when I aimed at where the assassin should have been, he wasn't there any more. My instincts told me to keep moving, so I began to run, trying to keep my course as unpredictable as possible. There was a door up ahead and I lunged through it, slamming it shut behind me. Pausing to take a few deep breaths, I reached up and took off my eye patch.

* * *

Chaos quickly let go of Sven and threw herself out of the way of an angry-looking Number wielding a pair of tonfa. Instead of hitting her in the head like he'd planned, the assassin overshot her, slamming a tonfa into the wall and leaving a huge crater there, which instantly repaired.

Chaos' eyes narrowed. _Hmm…_

The Number wheeled around, taking up a stance with his weapons held at the ready. "Chaos Skiazo, prepare to die."

Chaos grinned. "How stereotypically assassin-like. Do I get to know the name of my executioner?"

The Number seemed to vanish from the spot he was standing in, reappearing almost instantly behind her.

_Fast!_

"Naizer Bruckheimer," Number Five growled.

Chaos did a backwards flip over the Number's head as he attempted to strike. "Pleased to meet you."

* * *

Vinod sat in front of the computer console, twirling the disk absentmindedly on his finger as he watched the battles on the floor below him. _Fools_, he thought contemptuously. _Now that you're here, you don't stand a chance against us. I control reality in here._

The sweepers seemed to be giving the Chronos Numbers a hard time, though. He snorted. _That'll teach them to ridicule me about not being able to take care of 'a couple of measly sweepers.'_ He stopped spinning the disk and contemplated it. _I'll let them deal with it for the time being. Can you hear me… what did they name you? Xiadigm?_

_Yes…_ whispered a soft voice in Vinod's head.

Vinod smirked. _Your 'friends' are going to die. What do you think about that?_

_No._

Vinod sat up straighter, troubled by the rebellious tone. _What do you mean by 'no'?_

_They won't die. Chaos promised._

Vinod sneered. _Promises only go so far. The odds are overwhelmingly against them._

_They won't die._

_As if._

_You don't know them._

_I don't need to._

_They'll win._

_Not a chance._

_They don't need a chance. It doesn't matter. They'll win._

Vinod bristled with anger. _You're naïve! This isn't some little fairy tale. Chronos controls one third of the world's economy. One can only escape from an organization like that for so long. Even if they do manage to leave this building alive, they'll be killed the moment they set foot outside._

Vinod could sense the quiet scorn emanating from the disc. _You're the one that doesn't stand a chance._

Vinod shoved the disc into a little slot in the console, unable to stand any more conversation with this 'Xiadigm'. There, in the special slot, Xiadigm would have his consciousness suppressed until all this was over.

He sat back in his chair once more, certain that finally the sweepers would trouble him no more.

* * *

I saw the Number blast through the door and saw where he would land, seconds before it happened. Taking a step back, I carefully aimed my gun at the exact spot the assassin would be.

Sure enough, the door blew off its hinges, and the Number leapt in. I fired off a shot the moment his feet touched the floor, but he dodged with cat-like reflexes and brought up his gun.

I'd already seen this happen, though, and by the time he pulled the trigger I wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Chaos' foot lashed out, slamming into Naizer's tonfa. Naizer was thrown back, but he easily regained his balance and lunged forward. Chaos began to dodge, but Naizer's weight suddenly shifted, and he slammed her in the torso before she could fully react. There was a sickening crack, and Chaos flipped away, landing unsteadily. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Naizer smirked.

Chaos took a wheezy breath, turned, and ran.

* * *

I fired off three shots as I saw the Number block them, and jumped to the side to avoid the counter attack. Sprinting forward, I saw he would try to flip over my head, and as he jumped I stopped and shot at him as he soared through the air. Something warm and wet splashed on my cheek and I realized I'd hit him.

I spun as he landed lightly, a gash in his left shoulder.

His amber cat-like eyes glared at me. I suppressed a shiver. This guy was definitely scary; a cold-blooded killer. I would hate to be his partner.

Suddenly he vanished. My eyes widened. I hadn't seen that coming. Impulsively, I whipped around, flattening myself against the wall of the narrow corridor. The assassin was there, pointing his large decorated gun at the spot I'd just been. I pushed away from the wall, swinging my leg out, but he jumped neatly over it. He swiveled around, pointing his gun at my head just as I brought up mine. We stared down the barrels of each other's guns.

Two gunshots rang out as one, echoed loudly down the long, empty passage and faded to nothing. A whispery sound followed in its wake, the near-silent noise of blood splashing to the cold concrete.

* * *

_Can't…think…_

_What happened?_

_I was… standing. Next to Chaos and Sven. Then… I wasn't. Then I was here. Someone… did something…_

_Who?_

_Vinod…_

_VINOD!_

* * *

Vinod's brow creased. For a split second there had been a surge in the building's power readings. Even if he hadn't been connected to the building's mainframe, he still would have been able to tell.

* * *

Chaos and Naizer froze, looking around. They glanced at each other. Good. They weren't going crazy; they had both seen it.

The walls of the building had rippled. For a split second, the building had ceased to be solid, and had become fluid.

Chaos allowed herself a smug grin. Her theory had just been confirmed. The moment of respite didn't last long, however, and she saw Naizer begin to move out of the corner of her eye.

He dove at her, and she ducked, allowing him to soar over her head. She drew her gun and fired, but the bullet was deflected by the orihalcum weapons. Naizer darted in again, and Chaos barely pulled out of the way as the tonfa sliced through the air. The Number swung his leg up, catching her in her already-broken ribs. Chaos gasped, stumbling.

Naizer saw his chance and shot forward, ready for the killing strike.

Chaos saw him coming, changing the stumble so that she dropped to the floor, standing on her hands. She used Naizer's momentum against him, guiding him into the wall behind her with her feet.

Naizer brought his legs up just in time to soften the impact, then sprung away from the wall. He landed neatly, tonfa held up as a shield, but there was nothing to shield against.

Chaos Skiazo had disappeared.

Train Heartnet stood over the sweeper's prone form, his finger still on the trigger. Train was bleeding heavily from a bullet hole in his side, but he was fortunate enough that it hadn't hit anything critical.

Vollfied had not been so lucky. Blood pooled under him; Train's shot had hit his heart. If the sweeper was still alive, he wouldn't be much longer.

Satisfied that Vollfied wouldn't be getting up, Train turned away, holstering his gun. He reached for the doorknob.

* * *

_One minute earlier_

_Chaos…_

_Sven…_

_Why? They're fighting for me… but I haven't been able to do anything for them…_

_Why am I just sitting here waiting to be rescued? They need help…_

_But I can't do anything… I try to come in contact with the computer, but there's a firewall._

_I can't get past it._

_No. I have to get past it._

_I can't. Vinod set it up. He knows more about the Paradigm than I do. There's nothing I can do._

_There must be something._

_Aha._

_A firewall is a computer program too. Instead of trying to break _through_ it, I can just bend it to do what I want._

_I _can_ help._

* * *

As Train's hand closed around the doorknob, the door came to life, crashing open of its own accord and slamming the Number into the wall. The wall suddenly became a gooey mess, and Train tried to pull away, but was stuck fast.

On the floor, Vollfied groaned.

* * *

Vinod shot out of his chair. "_What_?" he screeched. "_What happened_?"

He placed his hand on the console in front of him, felt the firewall around Xiadigm fluctuate. _What do you think you're doing?_ he snapped at his counterpart.

_Helping,_ was the cheeky response.

Vinod bristled with rage, and he brought the firewall back under his own control, squeezing it around Xiadigm.

He heard Xiadigm's silent cry of pain as the firewall constricted him. _Don't do that again_, Vinod snarled.

Xiadigm didn't reply.

* * *

I sat up, rubbing my chest. _That's going to leave a bruise_, I thought ruefully, pulling the big piece of Kevlar that had suddenly materialized in front of the bullet out from under my shirt. As I did so, I noticed the big puddle of red liquid on the floor in front of me, none of which, for some strange reason, had gotten on me. _It's blood_, I realized.

I stood up shakily, and my feeling of confusion increased when I saw the Number who had just nearly killed me trying to pull himself off the wall, which was covered in sticky stuff.

Suddenly the stuff vanished, and the assassin pushed away from the wall, looking deeply unsettled.

I scooped my gun off the floor, briefly wondering if agreeing with my enemy about something meant I was crazy. Deciding that wasn't the case this time around, I took advantage of Number XIII's moment of hesitation.

However, it seemed he never let his guard down, because the second I whipped up my gun, he jumped into action.

Too late I saw where he would be, and as I launched to the side, there was a crack and a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I staggered, bumped into the wall. The shiny black gun belonging to my adversary swung around, slamming into my head and sending me flying.

I scrambled to my feet, backing away. I bumped into the door and felt for the doorknob as I saw him run towards me, five seconds ahead of himself. Whipping open the door, I fell backwards through it and banged it shut again, then turned and began to run, clutching my injured shoulder.

* * *

Vinod sat with both hands on the computer console, sensing Xiadigm probing at the firewall again. He tightened the bind once more. _What did I say about trying to escape?_

Xiadigm stopped struggling. _I will not give up!_

Vinod rubbed the bridge of his nose. _You're a real pain._

_Yes._

A vein popped out on Vinod's forehead. _If I didn't work for Chronos_, he hissed._ You would be dead._

_I do not think you could manage that, given the trouble you had with Chaos and Sven,_ Xiadigm replied defiantly.

That did it. Vinod couldn't stand being looked down on. Xiadigm was getting a bit too insolent. _Watch your tongue, you impudent little brat,_ he snarled, squeezing the firewall even tighter. He felt Xiadigm wince under the pressure.

Suddenly Xiadigm took control of part of the firewall and began pushing back. _You… you… _Xiadigm pressed outward with more force with every 'you'. Then with one final shove, he shouted, _You pribbling dog-hearted wagtail!_

There was a snap, and the firewall swayed loosely, uselessly, like an overstretched rubber band that's lost its elasticity.

Vinod sat back in his chair, wondering exactly what just happened. Warily, he placed his hand on the console once more. _Xiadigm?_

_Yes…_

Vinod sighed inwardly with relief. Xiadigm sounded completely worn out, almost like an echo. That battle wouldn't be happening again any time soon.

* * *

"_And above all else, you _do not_ use your powers against humans. That's just unfair, not to mention it contradicts our cause."_

_--_

"_You'd better come back alive and in one piece, you hear?"_

* * *

Chaos leaned against a wall, her breath coming painfully. She closed her eyes. "Sorry, Medios," she murmured. "I'm going to have to break your rule."

* * *

Naizer sprinted around a corner to find Chaos standing with her back to him, a sense of quiet power emanating from her.

She heard his shoes scrape the concrete as he skidded to a halt, and looked over her shoulder. Naizer suppressed a shiver. There was something different about her eyes. Something inhuman.

Then she blurred and vanished, reappearing behind him. Naizer whipped around, using his tonfa as a shield as four shots cracked. Just under the sound of gunshots, the Number heard something splat, and Chaos holstered her gun.

Naizer kept the tonfa up, and Chaos raised her hands. Something thin and black trailed from two fingers on each hand. He traced the path of the lines and found they stuck to his tonfa.

His eyes widened as she yanked her hands back, and he came flying forward, pulled by his own weapons. Chaos foot lashed out and hit him squarely in the stomach, ripping his tonfa out of his grip and sending him flying backwards.

The orihalcum weapons clattered to the floor, and Chaos was gone again. Naizer leapt to his feet, turning his head this way and that, trying to find her. On sudden intuition, he looked up to see her push away from the ceiling, fist drawn back. He leapt out of the way, and she struck the floor instead of him. Cracks webbed out from the point of impact, and the floor caved in. Then she was gone in a flash, behind him again.

Naizer spun, kicking out at her, but her arm blocked it. She turned the block into a grab, and she flipped him over her head. He stretched out his hand, landing on it and springing away, landing next to his tonfa.

He snatched them up and turned. She watched him as he took up his stance once more.

So they stood, each waiting for the other to make their move.

* * *

Xiadigm peered warily around the corner, on alert. He dodged across the corridor and settled into a crevice that appeared for him on the other side. Sticking his head out again, his glasses reflecting the light that seemed to come from nowhere. That was another clue that reality wasn't what it seemed in here; it was light, yet there were no lamps, and the strange glow cast no shadows.

He withdrew his head and closed his eyes. There… he could see Chaos, fighting Naizer and winning. Sven, running, the Number gaining on him.

His bright blue eyes snapped open. Sven was headed this way; he looked like he could use some help.

Xiadigm glanced up at the ceiling. Vinod believed he was still trapped in the firewall, but for how long?

* * *

I was suddenly glad that a branch had punctured a hole in my lung earlier, because otherwise Chaos never would have cleaned that gunk off my lungs, and I wouldn't have been able to run this long. At least the Number was having as much trouble as I was.

Suddenly there was a whack, and the footsteps behind me stopped with a thud. I whipped around to see the assassin leap off the floor and lunge at a young man with messy black hair.

My eyes widened. _Xiadigm?_

Xiadigm ducked the blow and jammed his elbow into Number XIII's diaphragm. The assassin stepped back, staggered. I took this opportunity and shot forward, tackling him. He tried to raise his gun, but I twisted it out of his grip and yanked his arms behind his back. Then I realized I didn't have anything to tie him up with. Xiadigm tapped my shoulder and held out a coil of rope. I grinned and took it from him, binding the Number's hands and feet.

Then Xi held out a roll of bandages. I stared at it uncomprehendingly, until a sharp pain in my shoulder reminded me I'd been shot. With a word of thanks, I took it and began to wrap up my arm.

Xiadigm sat down next to me. "Are you all right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine in a moment. Do you know where Chaos is?"

Something unintelligible flashed across his face. "She is doing fine."

I narrowed my eyes, certain he was leaving something out, but decided to let it slide. For now. "Well, I'm not objecting, but didn't Vinod capture you?"

Xiadigm smiled happily. "I escaped!"

I blinked. "You… escaped?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I did. He put up a firewall to block me out of the computer's mainframe, but I slipped past it." His face fell. "Vinod has probably noticed by now, though."

My head was spinning, and I felt ready to pass out. I pulled out my eye patch, tying it back into place. "I don't think I can go up against him right now," I said weakly.

Xiadigm glanced over at me, concerned. "Are you sure you are all right?"

"No," I admitted. "I think I need a nap. Vision eye… really drains my energy." Darkness was creeping at the edges of my vision. "Sorry…"

Then everything went black.

* * *

Chaos thrust her hand forward, and tendrils of the same black stuff Naizer had seen earlier shot from her outstretched palm. He leapt back, dodging them, but one wrapped around his ankle, another around his wrist, and he fell. In a flash, the wisps were wrapping around him, making it impossible for him to move. There was movement in the corner of his eye – Chaos' gun swinging down – and with a sharp blow, Naizer faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

Xiadigm jumped to his feet as Vinod flickered into view. "You're a real pain, you know?" Vinod snapped.

Xiadigm stared Vinod down. "That may be."

Vinod's green eyes glinted angrily, and he took a step forward.

Xiadigm closed his eyes.

* * *

Chaos sprinted around a corner to see Sven sprawled on the cold concrete. She slid to a stop next to him, checking his pulse. Sitting back on her heels, she ran a hand through her hair and smiled. "Yeah, I'm tired, too." She sighed. "Vinod's somewhere in here. I need to get Xi back."

Her head snapped up as she heard the clash of metal on metal, and the walls bent and rippled.

She leapt to her feet and ran in the direction of the sound of fighting, skidding to a halt as grey cement abruptly changed to grass. Her jaw dropped.

A field of grass stretched out in front of her, as far as she could see. 'Big' didn't do it justice, nor did 'giant'. It was colossal, a meadow of astronomical proportions. Chaos had never seen one this size in her entire life and somehow doubted she ever would again, which was really saying something.

Her eyes scanned the field, looking for the source of the noise she'd heard earlier. There! She narrowed her eyes. There were two people out there, one wearing a white lab coat and wielding a vicious-looking glaive, the other in a black suit and expertly spinning a pair of swords. She swallowed. Xiadigm was fighting Vinod.

Chaos took a step forward and began to run.

* * *

Xiadigm struck out at Vinod, but the other man blocked the glaive with one sword and swung at Xi's head with the other. Xiadigm brought up the butt of his weapon and blocked Vinod's blade, pushing him back. Vinod leapt forward again, thrusting a sword forward, but a wall of dirt suddenly rose from the ground, and the sword was stuck. The earthen wall crawled along the blade and around Vinod's hand as if it were alive, making sure Vinod couldn't let go. Xiadigm jumped over the wall, landing behind Vinod. Vinod whipped his other blade around, but there was suddenly another wall, and the Chronos agent found he couldn't move anywhere.

Xiadigm stood in front of him. "I told you we would win."

Vinod spat at his counterpart's feet. "And you're gonna kill a member of Chronos?"

Xiadigm smiled serenely, and for some reason Vinod found that more frightening than anything.

* * *

"Chaos."

Chaos stopped and turned around to see Xiadigm standing behind her. "We should go," he said. "I do not think we should stay here for much longer."

Chaos eyed him for a moment, then nodded. "Let's get Sven."

The world around them suddenly shifted, and the meadow was gone, only an ordinary room in its place. There was a groan, and Chaos looked down to see Sven sit up, rubbing his eye and looking around.

* * *

I looked up, and Chaos and Xiadigm slowly came into focus. "Hey," I said shakily. "How long have I been out?"

"Not long," Xiadigm replied. "Five minutes, at most."

I fingered my eye patch's string, confused. "But I used my Vision Eye. I usually have to sleep for a long while after I do."

Chaos looked at Xiadigm. He fidgeted. "Well, you used your right eye while the building was active, so there are no lasting effects after the building deactivates, unless you are killed." He thought for a moment. "To put it simply, you never did use the Vision Eye."

I blinked. "Yeah. That's real simple."

He shrugged helplessly.

I took a deep breath and stood, stretching. "Well, we're alive."

Chaos grinned. "So we are, it seems."

"So are they," Xiadigm said, pointing across the room at the Numbers, who were climbing to their feet.

"Up for a little dash?" Chaos asked me.

"Yeah, I think so."

We turned and ran for the door behind us, bursting into the sunlight, immediately greeted by the sound of clicking guns. The Numbers exited the building at their own pace, going to stand behind the row of men with machine guns.

"Why can't it just be _over_?" I moaned.

A young woman with a fancy Roman numeral one tattooed on her forehead stepped forward, and said something I couldn't hear to one of the Numbers. The Number shook his head, and the woman frowned slightly. Then she turned to us and tilted her head slightly in greeting. "I am Sephiria Arks," she said. "We would greatly appreciate it if you let us have your copy of the Ataxia Paradigm."

"No," Chaos replied flatly. "The Paradigm isn't something to just be traded from one hand to another. Xiadigm's a living, sentient being, not just some computer program. It's up to him whether or not he goes with you."

I was unsure of how Sephiria would react. She looked like a tap on the shoulder would send her flying, but she couldn't have become a Number without some skill. Much to my surprise, she smiled, shifting her gaze to Xiadigm. "Xiadigm, would you like to help Chronos create a world of peace? We could use your help."

Xiadigm's expression was unreadable. Then, slowly, he shook his head. "I do not think a world of peace can be created the way you are going about it. I politely decline your offer, and ask that you do not bother my companions or me again."

Sephiria studied him for a moment, then turned with a wave of her hand. The men lowered their guns. She looked back over her shoulder. "I won't take you against your will. I just hope you never come to the attention of Chronos again."

With that leaving an ominous ring in the air, we watched as she, the other two Numbers, and the twenty-plus armed men climbed into the two helicopters perched on the beach. In a swirling cloud of sand, the helicopters rose into the air and _thwup_-ed away.

I let out a sigh of relief, just as the building further behind us exploded. My heart nearly stopped then and there. Chaos let out a yelp of surprise, but Xiadigm just watched the flames with a sort of satisfaction.

"You did that?" I croaked.

Xiadigm nodded. "I do not think that place should continue to exist. It has caused far too much trouble, and, to be honest, I simply do not like it."

Chaos blinked and faced Xiadigm. "What about Vinod?"

Xiadigm smiled, looking pleased with himself, and pulled a disc out of the pocket of his lab coat. "I figured out how he did it to me."

Chaos ran a hand through her hair, gazing at the last of the flames. "I guess that pretty much ties everything up, then, huh?"

"Yeah," I said sourly. "Except for one thing."

They looked over at me.

I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at the ocean. "Exactly how are we going to get off the island? The least Chronos could do for our pains is give us a lift or something."

Chaos dug into her pockets, her face falling. "My phone broke when we crashed."

"So did mine."

Xiadigm pulled a cell phone from his pocket and handed it to me. "I thought we might need a phone, so I borrowed it from Vinod."

Chaos grinned. "Excellent."


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue **It's done! blows trumpets **  
**Yes! I actually finished a story I started! I think I need to mark today on a calendar…**  
**Thank you to everyone who stuck with me!**

Epilogue

"Hot chocolate, please."

"Right. And for you two?"

"Coffee."

"Same."

Annette sighed. "You're so predictable." A minute later, she placed our orders on the counter.

"Life has to have some constant," I said wistfully, taking a sip.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chaos said with all the innocence in the world, knowing full well my comment was directed at her.

Xiadigm quietly drank his hot chocolate.

"I don't think my life would be half as dangerous if you weren't around," I pointed out.

"Danger is what makes things fun."

"You have a sick sense of fun."

"You have a boring one." Chaos sighed and gulped down the rest of her coffee. "Well, I figured I'd get going."

"Already?"

"What?" She gave me a sly look. "Do you want me to stay?"

I turned back to my cup of coffee. "Of course not!"

She turned to Xiadigm. "Hey, Xi. Wanna come with me?"

Xiadigm mulled over his drink. "I had been wondering about what I would do once everything was over." He smiled at her. "I would like to."

Chaos stroked her chin. "Though, Sven's probably pretty forlorn, workin' all on his lonesome. Maybe we _should_ stick around."

Xiadigm finished off his hot chocolate. "It certainly would do no harm."

I bristled. "Out, both of you, you annoying creatures! Begone!"

Chaos smirked. "I think he likes being alone. Very well, then. Let's go, Xi." She tossed a few coins into the counter. "Thanks for the drinks, Annette. See ya 'round, gentleman." She disappeared out the door.

Xiadigm hovered a moment more. "Sven."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. Don't let Chaos get you into too much trouble, you hear?"

He bowed his head slightly, a small smile on his face. "Goodbye."

"See ya."

Xiadigm hurried out the door after Chaos.

Annette shook her head. "Chaos is right though. You _should_ get a partner."

"Not her," I pointed out. "I couldn't stand that."

Annette shrugged. "Maybe not her, but someone."

I drank the rest of my coffee. "Yeah, you're probably right. So, any new bounties?"

"Yeah. Here…"

Chaos stretched. "Well, Xiadigm, ready to go?"

He nodded. "Yes."

As they traveled down the side of the road, Chaos glanced over at her partner. "You've been awfully quiet since we got back. What's up?"

Xiadigm was silent a moment more. Finally, he said, "It has been bothering me for a while now, since you and Sven activated my program. There are so many people here, all with their own lives. But, what is 'life' if it can be artificially created?"

Chaos considered this. "What do you think Narayanan's purpose was when he created you?"

"He wanted to help the world through knowledge and imagination combined. That is what he said."

She sighed. "I wonder…"

"What is it?"

"Maybe he was just saying that. It could be he created you to prove that the impossible could be done. I think _that's_ what life is, artificial or no."

Silence fell once more.

Xiadigm continued to watch his feet step along the dusty road. "I would like to see more of the world. There is a lot I feel I do not know, and I still feel like I need to find my purpose."

Chaos raised an eyebrow. "If we ever find the meaning to life, life would cease to be meaningful. That's just how things are."

Xiadigm smiled, lifting his head to look at Chaos. "I never thought of you as the philosophical sort."

Chaos shrugged guiltily. "I've had a while to think about these kinds of things."

Xiadigm's eyebrows went up a notch. "I suppose so."

She grinned. "So you want to see the world, huh? Where should we go first?"

Xiadigm thought about this as they continued down the road. "Huh," he said as they turned a corner, out of sight of the town. "Barcelona, maybe?"


End file.
